For the Child
by Quill-and-Parchment
Summary: Of all the things Hecate could have been offered to join Kronos, her decision was not made for herself.


**For the Child**

_by_

_Quill-and-Parchment_

"My lord, she is here."

The shadowed figure sitting on the throne smiled. Not that anyone saw it; the darkness hid it all. He tilted his head. "Let her in," he commanded, sitting back in his chair as a small thrill woke in him. There were not many things he liked to do, but riling up the gods was one of his all-time hobbies, if you could call it that. And _this_ particular goddess was his favorite.

The tent's flaps blew back before the servant could reach the opening, letting a regal woman in a dark dress stride in. She glared balefully at the guards, who stiffened at her look. They held their positions, though. He had make sure his servants fear _him_ above all else. After all, she could only kill them. He could do much worse.

She stopped before him, and dark eyes met molten gold for a moment. Then she nodded stiffly. "Titan," she said, her voice and tone as chilly as the Alaskan winter.

From the shadow, he grinned. "Olympian," he replied airily.

They stared at each other for a long moment, gauging each other out and trying to determine what the other was thinking. Finally, her patience running thin, she broke the silence. "You did not call me because you have nothing to do better than a staring contest."

He chuckled, a sound that made chills ran up the guards' spines. The woman was unimpressed.

"You are so very observant, my dear goddess. Or should I say, my former fellow Titan?" he drawled. Her shoulders tensed very slightly, but he was looking for that and he saw it. His grin widened. Oh yes, this would be very fun.

"Titan I was, as an Olympian, now I stand," she replied coolly, tossing her head. Straight dark hair was flipped back from her pale face. She would have been beautiful had that murderous glint not existed, he thought. But no matter.

He clucked his tongue, feigning disappointment. "Ah, now, my dear, why must you be so harsh? Could you not forget the distant pasts and come back to my side? As you have already seen, those _Olympians_ – which you so proudly announced yourself as – are losing this war. They might have won the first, but not the second. Their luck and their time has run out. I, however, have eternity. The gods will lose, and if you are still one of them, you shall be cast into Tartarus."

Dark eyes narrowed. "Are you an idiot, or are you just faking as one?" she demanded sharply, ignoring the flicker of murderous rage across his face. "I am the goddess of magic. I must remain, else the balance shall be upset. All of you and all of the Olympians use magic everyday. Should I cease to exist – that is, should I fail to carry out my duty by existing – all magic shall disappear along with me. The gods might have power, but I am the cord that allows that power to come into existence. Zeus did not keep me around just because, don't you think?" She sneered at him.

Silence reigned. Then, he spoke.

"I have information that recently, you have been keeping tabs on a boy called Allen Hawthorne," he announced idly, leaning back in his chair. It was his favorite card, of course, and _this_ one would make her squirm. Despite what she wants him to think, he knows her better than she ever knew herself.

To her credits, the woman did not show much reaction. Not _overly_ much, that is. But her hands clenched into tight fists before relaxing.

"So you are spying on me," she said quietly. "I guess it was a wise decision, destroying my third-in-command."

He waved his hand. "Yes, it was. Pam was a very good _empousa_ spy. That should teach you something, my dear _Olympian_." A grin. "Your creations _always_ turn against you unless suppressed by fear."

She looked at him. Taking this as a cue, he continued on, "And my spies also told me this…child…had remarkable resemblances to you."

Once again, the woman showed no outward reaction, but the way her aura flickered – if only slightly – was enough for him to know he'd hit a nerve. A small grin adorned his face. This must be the best game he'd played in awhile. He had not thought it would be _this_ enjoyable either. Might as well enjoy it while it last, then.

"I have never thought you would sink so low as to blackmail those less than you, milord," she said at last, her voice mild. To any outsider, the woman didn't seem to give a care to the piece of news offered.

"Ah, but _you_ have!" he spread his hands. "You cheated us, siding with those Gaia-forsaken gods. But I can bring you back up, to my side. You can lessen their magic, you can weaken them. You _are_ the connection between this plane and the next that allows magic to happen after all, are you not?"

She said nothing.

"Think of this," he pushed on. "Your son had never been looked on as long as he'd lived. The mortal you have fallen in love with and had bore him a son is an alcoholic after you left. He is _weak_. Yet this child has your blood running in his veins, and even if you no longer love his father, you still love him. Do you want him to die? Because I have vowed to myself that I shall annihilate those half-bloods to the last when I have trampled those gods underfoot – and mark my words, I will." His eyes glittered in the darkness, reflected by the flame of the braziers standing on either side of his chair.

Nothing but silence. Then the woman whipped around and strode out of the command tent. The guards moved, but a wave of the hand from their master told them to stay. He sat back in his throne, a satisfied smile on his face. She would join him. Although he knew it was a low blow, he also knew she caught his meaning.

_I will kill your son the most painful way possible when I win, and I _will _win._

_Perhaps sooner still. Unless, of course, you join me. And you know you cannot stop me._

* * *

It was all she could do to keep herself in control as she stepped back into the cavern. A handmaiden quickly scurried out of sight after one look at her mistress's dark eyes. It was not wise to get in the way of the goddess of magic when she was in a mood. Seldom would someone brand her cruel, but she _would_ be when she was cornered, threatened or otherwise upset.

Must she be honest with herself, she would openly admit that this had been the first time she felt so trapped in so many centuries. Five hundred years ago she'd bore a half-blood daughter whose end was at the hands of hungry Cyclopes. Never again had she had an affair with a mortal…until now. And as before, she loved her son.

Ridiculous. It was so ridiculous she wanted to laugh it off. She was an Olympian, and before that, a Titan. She'd lived ions and ions. She should know better than this. One way or another she would lose her son to the flow of time – not because the Fates were unkind, but that was how the world operates.

Yet she was attached to this half-blood child, and the King of Titans' words weighed heavily in her mind. He meant every syllable of it, she was certain. She knew him better than the gods themselves. Much better.

Silk swished on the cavern floor as she turned to look outside, at the sky-blue ocean near the white-sanded beach and the swaying palms. It was storming, the sky dark with gray, heavy clouds and thunders. Lightning flashed now and then. Strong, violent gusts swept the trees back and forth. Zeus was angry. About what, she knows not, but she could not care less. At least his mood matched hers.

Closing her eyes, the woman crossed her arms, hiding them in the flared sleeves of her dark dress. Her pride burned hot in her heart, barking out against the offer of betraying her brethrens and upsetting the balance. This was her _duty_. The universe had entrusted it to her to keep it as it was, joining no one and serving no one. She has maintained that balance for as long as she has lived. Seldom had she strayed, and when she did, it was not important enough to lose that balance.

Now…

She had not had any direct contact with her son. The Laws forbade it. But she did observe him, and he was just like her. Sharp face, dark hair, dark eyes…Her son in the blood. And she could imagine just _what_ he would do to the child if he wins. _When_ he wins. The Olympians were not in the best of position right then, even if she loathed admitting it.

Very slowly but surely, the fiery wall of pride and logic reasoning crumbled away, leaving behind a mere woman who had lived too long and held too much power with too high a position and too many things at risk.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. She was not Athena, whose wisdom overrode any and all feelings of the heart. She was not Hera, who never had to worry about her children because they were all immortals. She was not Persephone, whose only duty was to serve in the war as she could with no great expectation of her.

She was a goddess, yes, and quite possibly the oldest of the Olympians due to her experience as a former Titan. But in the end, she was just a mother, and like all earthly mother, she was terrified of the fear of losing her only child in this lifetime.

No, she was no mere goddess. She was a mother who experienced that joy once every few hundred years, and Hecate was not ready to let go of that joy so easily now that she'd tasted it once again.

Dark eyes pierced the horizon. Perhaps an apology is due. After all, she was betraying her brethrens. But with any luck, her betrayal would be in vain, and the gods would win against all odds. Now she only had one apology in mind, and that would be to her son who she would not claim, for she feared he might have to live with the knowledge that his mother was a traitor the remaining of his who-knows-how-long life.

She should have felt horrified, humiliated, or _weak_, even. Because stripped of her defenses, Hecate realized she was just someone who was afraid of loss. Not even her pride and stubbornness could guard her from that single truth.

It was a critical blow, but this was one weakness Hecate could not fix nor forget.

A bitter curse echoed among the walls of the cave. And then she was gone.

* * *

_I have my suspicions about the renegade gods and goddesses joining Kronos. This is one of them: a goddess who had been used as the mother of the main character in too many Mary Sue fanfictions. With this, I hope to deliver what the _real_ one might have thought during that time._


End file.
